Two New Orleans brothers have pleaded guilty to federal murder charges stemming from three drug-related killings in late 2011 and early 2012. One of the shootings targeting a rival drug dealer led to the death of a woman who was walking to the store with her young child.

Under the terms of a plea deal prosecutors announced Friday (Nov. 15), Don Brooks, 21, will be sentenced to 60 years in prison and Antoine Brooks, 23, will get 25 years for their roles in the gun violence.

Antoine Brooks admitted to shooting 33-year-old mother Tamira Johnson as she was walking down Louisa and Marais streets with her 13-year-old son in 2011. Don Brooks, who was known on the street as "Crip," admitted to the shooting deaths of 34-year-old Harry Howard in the 1600 block of North Villere Street on New Year's Day 2012 and of Lamont Phillips, also 34, in the 2600 block of North Tonti Street three days later.

In the September 2011 slaying of Johnson, rival cocaine dealer Roosevelt Rumley had been the target. The brothers had been feuding with him.

The Brooks brothers were driving in their car when they spotted him, and as they approached, Antoine Brooks reached for his .40 caliber handgun, stuck the weapon out of the car window and fired, hitting Rumley in the hand and Johnson in the head, court papers say.

Howard and Philips were crack cocaine dealers who had moved onto the 1300 block of Columbus Street in August of 2011, where they met the Brooks brothers and began supplying them with drugs to sell, prosecutors say in court papers. The brothers were stationed steps from Howard and Philips' house from August 2011 until January of 2012.

Howard was fatally shot in the back on Jan. 1, 2012. Three days later, Phillips was shot in front of the house on Columbus Street. A witness told authorities that Phillips had been talking on the phone before running into the house to retrieve his crack cocaine supply. When he came back outside, the witness overheard two men talking before several gunshots rang out.

The witness called 911 and reported seeing a man standing over Phillips fallen body before fleeing the scene. Before he died, Phillips identified Don Brooks as his assailant, telling the responding officers, "Crip did me."

The next day, the brothers were involved in a shootout on N. Claiborne Ave. and Kerlerec, in which Antoine Brooks was shot several times. A witness recovered a gun that matched the weapon used in the slayings of Johnson, Howard and Philips.

On Jan. 7, three days after Phillips' murder, Don Brooks tried to kill a witness in retaliation for cooperating with police investigating the previous murders, prosecutors said in court papers.

The witness was giving Brooks - who identified himself to the witness only as "Shorty" - a ride when the pair stopped for gas. When the two got out of the car, Brooks told the witness, "this is for my peeps," before firing several shots, hitting the person in the thumb, ear and neck. The witness later identified Brooks in a photo lineup, authorities said.

Ballistic analysis of shell casings found at the murder scenes confirm that the same gun was used for all three killings.

If convicted at trial, the brothers would have faced life terms. While the crimes were eligible for the death penalty under the federal system, the Justice Department did not pursue capital punishment.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the New Orleans Police Department.